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2020-11-05 News ArticleLake Okeechobee News -merger of Okeechobee News, Clewiston News, Glades County Democrat, and The Sun November 11, 2020 Okeechobee business owners complain about panhandlers By Cathy Womble Lake Okeechobee News OKEECHOBEE—The homeless popu- lation in the downtown parks was the first order of business at the Okeechobee City Council meeting on Nov. 5. Mike Mammareld, owner of Joey's Pizza, attended the city council meeting in order to speak to the council about the parks in front of his restaurant. "We've got a beautiful park out there," he said. "But, I'm having a lot of homeless problems out there. A lot of people try to panhandle my customers in front of the place." He said it makes it bad for business, and he believes it is causing fewer people to visit the park. 'It's getting a little scary. You find them lying across the benches up there," he explained. He said one man was lying on a park bench half naked. "It really looks terrible for the park. There's probably half a dozen guys coming in and out of the park They are homeless." He went on to say with times being as tough as they are, this makes it even harder for the businesses there. He was hop- ing the council could look into the problem and see if they could do anything about it. Police Chief Bob Peterson said this has been an ongoing problem. He and City Administrator Marcos Montes de Oca have been discussing the best way to handle the problem. They are trying to come up with some type of ordinance. "It's not as easy as it sounds," he said. "You can't tell somebody he can't stay in a public place." He said if they are panhandling, that is breaking the law, and there are things they can do about that. "We have to have a reason to tell them to leave, other than they don't have a shirt on and we don't like them there. We know there is a problem, and we are working on it." Councilman Bobby Keefe said a second man spoke to him about the same problem. Dave Feiteriberger and his wife own property in front of the park as well, and have similar concerns about the homeless hanging out in the park. Feltenberger offered his employees and supplies to build some type of open shelter where these men could go to sleep. He would like to include a bathroom facility as well where they could wash up and use the facilities. "Obviously, it would not be in the park, because it shouldn't be there," said Councilman Keefe. Councilman Keefe said Feltenberger understood it could not be a closed shelter, 'because it would have to be staffed in order to prevent drug use inside. His intention is to build something open enough that law enforcement could drive by several times each night and see inside without getting out of their vehicles — just something out of the rain where the homeless could sleep and use the bathroom. In other business, Finance Director India Riedel was presented with a longevity certifi- cate for 15 years of service to the city. Approval was granted to purchase a software upgrade to the police department Spillman System. The cost will be $19,925, and the software will help provide uniform crime report data required by the State of Florida. Because this was not budgeted, Chief Peterson said they plan to make do with two new police cars next year and use the money budgeted for the third car to pay for the soft- ware. "We knew this was coming," he said, "but we did not know when." The council discussed the future direc- tion of code enforcement in the city. Chief Peterson said they had two choices. They could continue doing things the way they do now, but he said with the existing structure, they cannot keep up. He went on to tell the council if they wanted to continue with the beautification of the city and making the city took like a place people would want to stay, live and put a business, it would take, not only more effort, but also more money than they are currently allocated. Councilman Bob Jarriel said some of the code enforcement issues brought before the council in the past were a year or two old and not resolved. "That's not good for the city or the neighbors." He concluded that he felt they should go forward with code enforcement because citizens have indicated this is what they want. Councilman Wes Abney noted that code enforcement has put over $22,000 in the city's general fund in the last six months. He suggested using the funds the Economic Cor- poration turned down for code enforcement. Councilman Keefe and Councilwoman Mon- ica Clark both agreed and said they would like to move forward with code enforcement and hire some full-time employees. Mayor Dowling Watford was the lone dissenter, saying he felt code enforcement was doing a good job now, and there was no need at this time to do more. Chief Peterson told the council the code enforcement secretary left and Fred Sterling, the code enforcement officer, plans to retire "Always on Top Of the Job" in December. This will leave them without a code enforcement officer. He said this will give them the opportunity to start over and do things "fresh and right." He would like to hire a main code enforcement officer and an assistant who is capable of getting out in the field and helping out rather than a secretary. He wants to hive an experienced code enforcement officer so they do not have to spend six months training this person. Sterling is willing to slay until they find his replacement, but he has already turned in his resignation. They will offer $18 per hour for the new code enforcement officer. The assis- tant would make the same amount as entry level secretaries. The total cost for both posi- tions with benefits would be approximately $110,509, Now, they are paying $70,964 for Sterling and a part time employee. The additional cost to the city would be $39,545 each year. Considering the money code en- forcement put into the general fund over the last six months, he believes the program will pay for itself, although he cannot make any promises. The council voted to allow him to go ahead with his plan. The council discussed the hiring of a professional landscape architect service. They sent out a request for qualifications last month and five companies applied. Ranked number one by the committee was the firm of Calvin, Giodano & Associates. Although, several council members expressed dis- appointment in the way the ranking was handled. Councilman Keefe said he felt the council should have had access to presenta- tions from the companies, and he was not happy with the lack of communication from staff. After some discussion, it was decided the ranking would be rejected and the coun- cil will see presentations from the companies before a second ranking takes place. City firefighters were on the agenda again. This time, the discussion was on their annual and sick leave payout. In recent discussions, the council has attempted to find a way to make longevity with the city a factor in the firefighters' payouts. Staff suggested using sick and annual leave payout as a way to achieve the goal. This would be approxi- mately $138,000 total for everyone in the department and would be paid out based on seniority. The longer they have been with the department, the bigger the payout. As it stan s now in the interlocal agreement, the fire ghters will be given the option of taking a payout on their accumulated sick z leave or carrying it over to the county. If they carry it over to the county, the city will pay the county for that sick leave. If the firefight- ers choose a payout, they would start work for the county with no accrued sick days. It would be like beginning a new career at zero days. Either way, the city will be paying the sick leave costs. The discussion involved allowing the firefighters to take a 100% pay- out rather than 50% as a way to give them a bigger payout for service with the city. It was decided the council needs more precise fig- ures before they make a decision on whether to offer this to the firefighters, and it will be on the agenda for the next meeting. At Independent News Media, pmpdetors of Lake Okeechobee News, we seek to provide community webskes and purposeful newspapers that encourage and support meaningful community Involvement and elevate the level of citizenship In our communities. We believe our dedication to conscientious Journalism and free speech with civility is the best way to help each of our communities become a better place to live and work. We salute area businesses who share our commitment to community: Florida Crystals In Good Company Belle Glade Community Partner Sponsor of 2,0W courtesy copies of Lake Okeechobee News delivered to the Belle Glade community. JOIN THE CITY'S 'I'll FLAGLER PARK DESIGN REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE • Metal & Shingle Roofs The City of Okeechobee is seeking volunteers to serve on a citizen board to make recommendations on improvements to • Flats & Leak Repair f lagler Park. This is YOUR opportunity to be involved in YOUR Communityt ,on,plete a Citizen Board Application by December 18, 2020 and submit to the Office of the City Clerk at 55 SE 3rd AVE, Okeechobee, FL, or via email • ) igamiotea@cityofokeechobee.com. Applications can be downloaded from ' Ile website cityofokeechobee.comlvolunteer.htmi. For questions contact 863 357-3838 353 763-9814. ,y By: City Clerk Lana Gainiotea, CIVIC Nov.5) aoa0 CoknG I Nlee*AQ